Big Brother and the Holding Company; Sir Douglas Quintet; Orkustra; Griffin, Rick; Seidemann, Robert; Hillyard, Roger; van Meter, Ben

Original Concert Poster: Big Brother and the Holding Company, Sir Douglas Quintet, Orkustra ("Motherload," May 5-7, 1967)

San Francisco, CA: Family Dog Productions, 1967. First Edition. Single Sheet. A poster (appx. 14" x 20") announcing a concert entitled "Motherload" with performances headlined by Big Brother & the Holding Company, along with the Sir Douglas Quintet & the Orkustra, during May 5-7, 1967 at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. The legendary psychedelic artist Rick Griffin (b. Richard Alden Griffin, 1944-1991) created the artwork & graphics reproduced here, with a central photograph featuring Janis Joplin & her Big Brother-bandmates taken by Robert "Bob" Seidemann (1941-2017), the noted American graphic artist & photographer known especially for his countercultural & musical portraits such as this during the 1960s-1970s. "Rick Griffin- Photograph by Bob Seidemann" in facsimile hand-lettering is found at lower right white border just to the right & parallel with brown/ orange-dotted image border (see image). Credited for "Lights" is "The North American Ibis Alchemical Company," a memorably named incarnation of Roger Hillyard, Ben van Meter & Co. Hillyard (b. 1942) was highly involved with the exemplary psychedelic light shows of this era, later became the proprietor of a popular coffee shop, & most recently the practicing resident of a Zen Buddhist center- all in San Francisco. Van Meter (b. 1941) was also a major light show producer & experimental filmmaker at this time, & still engages in cutting-edge creativity as of this writing. According to the Talmudic scholarship we have consulted regarding this poster (which is similar in its depth to our underground comix from this period), this copy is a first printing, with pale brown ink filling most of the top of the arrowhead at image just below "M" in "ROOM" at lower right area (again see image). In the reprint, this area is all-white. King, FD-60-OP-1, pg. 122. King writes at length about the particularly provocative nature of this poster & its title: "The central image is a photograph of Big Brother and the Holding Company. Janis Joplin is standing with the other members of the band around her from the waist down. This produced a photograph which was long and narrow. Rick Griffin trimmed and framed this photograph so that it was in the shape of a penis with Janis Joplin from her breasts up in the head of the penis. This photograph and design coupled with the pun in the title on the words "mother lode" made this one of the most blatantly sexual of the psychedelic posters despite the fact that everyone in the photograph was fully clothed." (pgs. 122-123). An especially iconic & outrageous exemplar of the Griffin/ Seidemann psychedelic style that was reaching its apex (or should we say climax?) with the "Summer of Love" only a month away, in its rarest contemporary form. From the collection of Dion Wright (B. 1937), a most respected artiste & sculptor who was at the center of the scene that produced this & the many other astonishing posters that symbolize a fabled time & place (see Wright's memoir, Tempus Fugitive, item No. 5008). In our attentive & experienced estimation, this poster is in relatively very fine condition with only mild rubbing, browning at mostly blank white outer borders (central image appears completely bright & intact); a bit of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners. This item is too delicate to be rolled & must be shipped flat to assure no damage, therefore extra shipping costs will be required. Very Fine. [Item #5707]

Price: $1,000.00